athyrium metallicum help

lowlifeMarch 31, 2007

hi

i planted all my bought ferns a couple of weeks ago. they all seem to be thriving except the athyrium metallicum. they always seem to look slightly wilted. we have had a couple of cold nights recently too and now some of the leaves have areas of brown. Could this be down to insufficient water in the soil, or too much, or just perhaps the cold?? Should i just leave the fern leaves to rot (if they're going to), or cut them off so the plant uses it's resources elsewhere??

the location should be fine as it is part shade with no hot sun, the soil is neutral and kept moist. the strange thing is i have two athyrium niponicum 'red beauty' in the same bed, and they look very happy.

The fern you have is Athyrium nipponicum 'Pictum', which is sometimes labeled and sold as 'Metallicum'. They should be fine in a shady or semi-shady location, in moist soil. Yours is probably suffering from transplant shock and will recover. Often, the old fronds will collapse and lay on the ground, but the new foliage will emerge and stand upright. Some of my long established plants that began new growth earlier this year, have collapsed and the foliage is now on the ground, but as the season progresses, they will recover and form a mound of foliage
Athyrium nipponicum is probably the most prolific member of the Genus and I have sporelings all around the garden, with dozens of color variations. I do not purchase any of the named cultivars, as I can probably find identical colors among the hundreds of new plants that have voluntarily propagated. Two silver leaf ones were found this AM in my lawn while checking for obstructions, prior to mowing.
Good luck!
Rb